J.LiLy

Long weekend.

2011-05-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have never left my son for very long and this last Saturday I had to work a 10 hour shift at work. He came in with his daddy early that morning and I knew he wasnt right, he looked so out of it and didnt even want to smile :( Max always has a smile on his face. I asked him if he wasnt feeling to well and all he said was, "mommy, ewww!" Poor buddy.

I was so sad I couldnt be with him, I just knew he wasnt feeling well. My day drug on, I missed my boy so much. I finally got off work and came rushing home, to find Max passed out on his daddy on the couch. Poor little guy was running a fever and had the runs. I felt so bad for him. He didnt want to eat anything either. I went to bed with him that night hoping this was just a short bug and in the morning he would be all better.

The next morning was mother's day and the boys got me some beautiful flowers! Max still wasnt feeling good so we decided to just stay home and rest. I sure do love cuddling with my little man, I just wish he wasnt sick. He didnt want to eat and only wanted to lay on the couch and watch movies with mommy. Honestly I couldnt complain. Max doesnt sit still....EVER!! Sunday went by very fast accomplished very little other than eating crackers and watching tv. :) Its Monday evening, I just put Max to bed. His fever is gone, but he still has no appetite, a little more energy though! I went to the health food store and stocked up on lots of new vitamins and healthy immune booster stuff. No more sickness!! I am hoping tomorrow the sickness is finally gone and Max is back to his busy self!

He is to good health, and more sunshine. This pacific Northwest Rain is starting to really bug me!

-Lynsay

Payton's 1st Birthday

2011-05-09T02:46:00.000-07:00

          As I sit here and think about this past year, I wonder where it has gone! Last Sunday my little girl turned one. I can hardly believe it! This Sunday I celebrated my 2nd Mother's Day, AND next month I will be the mother of not one, BUT two little girls!

          It seems like just yesterday that I brought my brand new baby home from the hospital. After a very difficult delivery, and being in so much pain I greatly relied on my husband to help me with many tasks. I battled sleepless nights, breastfeeding, hours of rocking her in the chair, washing everything 10 times a day after she spit up on them, and many many more adventures. We watched as she smiled at us for the first time, giggled, rolled over, sat up and began to crawl. We got excited when she first said "Dada" and later,"Mama". We watched as she pulled herself up on things. We got excited to feed her new foods. We had to show everyone when she learned to wave "bye bye".

          It just so happens that our little princess also decided to take her first TWO steps on her birthday too! Unfortunately...her Daddy and I BOTH missed it. :(

          Today we go in for her one year well-child exam. This day seemed like so far away at one point and now it is here. I will be sending her off to school, watching her graduate high school, get married and have her own children before I even know it....

          Scary thought....

          If anything, I have learned that time does pass whether we want it to or not. That we need to live for today and appreciate the things that we do have and celebrate each day. Life does slip by so fast, before we even realize it!

          Happy Birthday my sweet baby, Payton! Your Mom and Dad love you so VERY VERY much!

-Lindsey

Things I'm doing via blog

2011-05-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Right now I've got a lot going on in my life.

My husband is going back to school in June to be an Air Traffic Controller which requires we move upstate.
So we are trying to:
find an apartment up there,
rent our house out down here,
find him a new job up there (part time...yikes. Just wait, I'll have plenty of budgeting posts for you!),
sell our second car down here,
and the list goes on.
In fact, in order to get the house ready to rent, he used some vacation time a few weeks ago so we could work on the house.
He re-tiled our entryway with a family friend, we re-painted the bathroom, pulled old trim off (seashells...not a pretty sight), painted existing trim, and put up new trim in 3 rooms.

All of this stuff is hard on both of us.
We love our little house. It's our home. Our first one. And we've put a lot of work into it.
We did the hardwood floors ourselves which was the biggest project, and then we painted every room and all the trim and put in new carpets. And we had a lot of plans for this house. A lot of plans that will now likely never be completed. Plans to redo the kitchen, to add-on in the back, to gut our bathroom and start it all over, to add a porch to the front. And we're sad that this little old house will never be as pretty as we'd hoped it would someday be.

On top of that, I've got several family issues going on behind the scenes, which tends to add a little stress even when it doesn't have me buying plane tickets at 1am for the next morning. Don't ask.

So anyway, to reduce some stress I'm following a LOT of blogs.

Granted, it's probably not as much as some people, but this is all still new to me; the blogosphere I mean.

So it feels like a lot!

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you a few things I'm doing/learning via blog, with links so you can too!

I'm learning the basics of photography over at Shabby Blogs, as in aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
I have always regretted not taking photography in high school when I had the chance!
I'm also learning some HTML/CSS coding over there that's a little more advanced than what I'm used to.

I'm learning how to put parties together (which I've never done!) over at: I Heart Naptime, Love & Sugar Kisses, and many, many others but I'll just include TomKat Studio for now because I'm loving their mothers day printables! Love&Sugar Kisses has some great ideas for Cinco De Mayo by the way! Like I said, there are many more of them, but I'm sure I'll do a whole "party" post at a later date.

And I'm learning how to DIY more home projects over at Welcome to Heardmont" and at Seven thirty three.

And I can't forget the aforementioned eighteen25 where I'm learning all sorts of crafty things...too many to pull one out of my head at the moment!

I hope you all click over and enjoy learning some new things! If only to grab some printables to decorate and share.
My little one is waking up, so its time for me to go!

Jessica at J.LiLy

My weekend

2011-05-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

....Was a blast! Friday I watched movie with my sweet boy. We stayed up past our bedtimes and then slept in until 7 am on Saturday. Such a treat! Got to enjoy some much needed spa time and got a new haircut. I love getting pampered. Took my boy to his great grandparents house, they live on a farm. We saw dogs, and cows!! We had junkie fast food for dinner!! Sunday we slept in until 8 am!!! I was soooo excited!! I honestly couldn't remember sleeping that late, it was amazing! Sunday was the most beautiful day out of the week, sunny and pretty darn warm. We went to the river and played in the sand and water. We had so much fun! We went out to lunch and then played at the park, needless to say by the time bedtime rolled around, we were soooo ready! I enjoy the memories I make everyday with my son, but having a beautiful weekend to make more is always great. They grow so fast almost as fast as the weekends go by :) Here is to hoping for more beautiful weekends, and memories with my sweet son. Maybe we will go on a vacation soon. Somewhere warm, tropical, beautiful, and fun!!! Some place like......Hawaii!!!!

That's what Im talking about!!!

Lynsay

Proud/Happy/Relieved for us all

2011-05-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

I have to say that YES I am one of those Americans who are so happy, relieved, and proud right now.

So proud.
Proud of our TROOPS for everything.
Proud of our FAMILIES who have sacrificed over this.
Proud of our PRESIDENT, for continuing the search if nothing else.
Proud of the NAMELESS & FACELESS who were the integral forces in bringing him down.

So relieved.
Which is not to say I think it's over. I don't think that anyone thinks it's over.
But Bin Laden has hung over our heads as the metaphorical "Terrorist". As if he were the only one. The head of it all.
We know that this is not the case. By far.
But to have him GONE?
It feels like a huge weight has been lifted.
That a fear has been diminished; though not demolished.

So happy.
Happy to have something to be happy about.
Happy to have one less "bad guy" in the world.
Happy to feel as though we accomplished something.
Happy for all those who devoted so much time, energy, and life to this.
And Happy for all those who are out there celebrating right now. I hope they're celebrating hard.

And a pride swells in my chest when I think of the troops at this moment.
Because, for me at least, it feels like we're one step closer to being done.
To ending this war.
To bringing our men and women home to their families and children.
Maybe a small step? But it feels like a step none-the-less.

And I would love it, if for just a few hours, people everywhere could feel content about this.
I know it won't happen.
The backlash has already started.
With "inside stories", and warnings of "don't believe everything you hear", and people condemning all sorts of people involved for taking "too much credit" or for taking any credit at all.
There will, unfortunately, always be naysayers. But I hope that the majority of us can enjoy this moment. If only for a moment. If only before you decide to not "believe everything you hear".
I know personally, when my mother called and told me I was SO excited.
September 11th happened when I was in 7th grade. And now I have my own daughter, and we've finally got HIM.
It doesn't solve the problem, or fill any voids. But it still feels like a victory to me.
I'm still enjoying this moment.And I hope that you are too.

Jessica at J.LiLy

Happy Birthday Payton!!

2011-05-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st birthday to a beautiful little girl, both inside and out!

A year's gone by,
How time has flown,
We can't believe
How Payton's grown!
She's such a joy
And so much fun,
Oh my! Your baby's
Turning One!

Happy birthday Payton!

We love you!

Freebies and Crafty-Stuffs

2011-04-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

I've been following a TON of crafty blogs lately (I'm sure you'll see them on our sidebar at one time or another) and I'm totally smitten.
I am definitely not a crafty person by nature. I'm artistic, not creative. Which means I can draw or paint something well, but I lack direction, I need someone to tell me what to do.
And I have found that craft blogs are perfect for that! They have tons of crafts, layouts, designs, and ideas all ready for the taking! I can take their freebies and ideas and make them my own. #Love

Freebies? What freebies you ask?
What I'm talking about here are:
Printables (so-called pre-designed cards, tags, labels, posters, and party decor that you can download free and print out at home),
and Fonts (for your computer, blogging, and graphic designing)

I have found a few AMAZING sites in the time I spend combing through blogs that offer all kinds of freebies like these. I'm bringing you my current TOP TWO faves.

My first fantastic site for printables can be found here at: It Is What It Is: Pictures, Projects, & Printables.
You can find everything on her blog from Big Sister/Big Brother favor tags, Posters, and Thank you cards, to relevant material for nearly every conceivable holiday.
Some examples:

As you can see she has some pretty darn adorable printables. But the real charm is in the crafts she does with them. Swing over to her site to grab the printables, and find out just how easy it is to create the Valentine Paper Chain, or the Springtime Candy Flowers. Your every holiday (or any day) at home can now be decorated with ease and whimsy!

My second fantastic site for printables can be found here at: eighteen25
Aside from printables they also happen to have free fonts and all kinds of crafts and tutorials for creating computer-made or home-made items.
These girls are SUPER creative. (I'm loving the emergency clutch made out of a potholder! Amazing!) And they also have some great fonts. They do a fantastic job of detailing for you (if you aren't as tech savvy as some) how to download and use them yourself.
I'm going to show you some pics of their printables, fonts, and craft ideas:

And those are all just from the 1st page! I think these sisters might just be the craftiest women on the face of the planet.

They are sponsored by the Silhouette (see my previous blogpost about it here) So they do have a lot of crafts that need it at least in part, but many of them can be improvised if you, like me, have not yet won the lottery.
As you can see, they too will keep you in decoration style for each and every holiday. For example, the picture in the top row, right-hand side is subway art in honor of Teacher Appreciation week.
And the picture in the bottom row, left-hand side? The pot-holder clutches! How cute right? They'll tell you how to make them yourself. SUPER easy!

I hope you enjoy these sites and utilize them to your full advantage. Not many places are giving out their ideas or designs for free these days. Enjoy!!

Jessica at J.LiLy

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest, I have never understood the allure of celebrity weddings. I mean really, I don't know these people! And more often than not, that marriage is going to end in under a year. So I just can't see trying to get excited over something that I have no personal connection too. And I guess I just assumed that Kate and William's would just affect me the same.

Of course, the Royal Family are not celebrities. They aren't famous for something like entertainment. They are famous because of how well loved they are. By the British, and the rest of the world.

Now I'm asking myself why it is that a wedding between two people on the other side of the world is so exciting for me?

I'm still not sure as to why, but I'm going to just roll with it for now!

For those of you who didn't stay up to watch the nuptials or view them online, here are some details:

First of all, before the ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II gave both Prince William, and Princess to-be Kate each a total of 3 new titles. They are:

Prince William the: Princess Katherine the:

Duke of Cambridge Duchess of Cambridge

Earl of Strathearn Countess of Strathearn

Baron Carrickfergus Baroness Carrickfergus

The ceremony took place in the Westminster Abbey in front of 1,900 guests. After which they rode in an open carriage waving to their cheering subjects with smiles of adoration.

But nothing about the ceremony has been as blogged or tweeted about as the kiss. I've got to admit, that one baffles me. Why are people so excited about this? Are they surprised? Because that seems odd...doesn't everyone kiss their spouse? Especially on their wedding day? So I'm going to leave you all to fill me in there. Let me know why that is just SO exciting for everyone.

To be honest my favorite part of the whole thing was simply Princess Kate's dress, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (her sister also wore a dress by McQueen). It was so simple and subtle, but beautiful and elegant. It was modest, but not old fashioned. And I think it played off her mix of youth and grace very well.

Not that Prince William wasn't looking dapper, which he definitely was. He's a very handsome man after all!

I am not one of the people who would have woken up my kid to see it. (She's only 2 1/2 anyway, so she wouldn't appreciate it) But I think it was worth it to stay up to watch, if only to be witness to something that will become a part of history.

It was beautiful.

People have been writing for weeks, comparing Kate to Diana. I don't want to be one of them, but I'd like to share my thoughts.
I can't see the new princess being every bit as influential as Princess Di, but why should she be? She has her own mark to make. She's a completely different person.

I can see that she looks happy, and unafraid to embrace the responsibilities that being a part of the Royal Family entails. She looks determined, and she looks like she's found her home. So Kudos to her!

And good luck to Prince Willliam and Princess Kate. We wish you all the best in your marriage.
We hope your special day was just that, special! And we can't wait to see some little ones running around again.
Congratulations!
♥ the girls at J.LiLy

Jessica at J.LiLy

We'd love suggestions!

2011-04-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

We three are eagerly working on all the gadgetry for the blog.
Trying to make it more accessible, shareable, and readable.
But we are also desperately trying to find ways to de-clutter it.
To make it more streamlined and simple.
It's going to take a few weeks to get the hang of this, and to get it how we'd like it to be. Heck, we're still working on a posting schedule between the three of us! (and we ARE working on content. We swear!)

What we'd like from you is some feedback!
-What, if anything, about the blog's layout/widgets/design deters you, or irritates you?
-Are we not offering something (as in a platform on which to share) that you are looking for?
-Do you feel that either the layout, header, or design are too busy/bright/cluttered? Or do you like them as they are?
-Do you know of any software/sites that could help us to streamline our look as far as widgets and other items?
-Do you have any suggestions or criticisms?

Leave us a comment on this post, send us an e-mail, reply on twitter, or comment on facebook!
Because as always, we would love to hear what you guys have to say!

A little bit of beauty

2011-04-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

First, a beautiful picture:

Proof that the world is still a beautiful place, no matter what we as humans do to destroy it.
Mother nature knows what she is doing. ♥

And a beautiful quote:

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” - Elizabeth Stone

We hope your day is a beautiful one!

Jessica at J.LiLy

Play dough you can eat!

2011-04-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

So my son is totally at the age where he loves to play with play dough and silly putty. But, he always wants to eat it---Gross!! So even though the play dough is non-toxic it still grosses me out. So salty and just plain (as my son would say)...eww!! I wanted something he could play with and eat, if he felt that urge, hehe! So here is a really fun Jello play dough recipe that will keep you entertained for hours and satisfied until dinner :) Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Jell-O Play Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 (3-1/2 oz.) package "unsweetened" Jell-O

Mix all ingredients together and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until consistency of mashed potatoes. Let cool and knead with floured hands until dry.

Storage: This recipe needs to cool completely "before" storing it in an airtight container!

Etsy Shop Promo: Three Yellow Starfish

2011-04-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our Etsy shop of the week is up! And as always you can find the link in the upper left hand corner.

I'm particularly excited to bring you this etsy shop!
Two reasons.
The first one being that I bought a "pinnie" from the Three Yellow Starfish for Alexis to wear in our family pictures back in 2009, when she was just under a year old. It quickly became the star of the photo session, and it is still my favorite piece of clothing she has ever owned. It's handmade, great quality, durable, reversible, and adorable. So I know for a fact that I'm promoting a good product here!
The second one being that the seller has graciously agreed to give our readers FREE shipping on any product! For the entire month of may! I'll tell you how to redeem this discount using our exclusive discount code further in the post.

But before that, let me tell you a little about this awesome shop! Your screen just bursts with bright, springtime colors, and whimsical patterns the moment you click the link to her shop. She uses the most popular and current fabrics (I remember being in love with the fabric on my daughter's pinnie before I even found the shop), and has several offers where you choose which fabric you like. And you're getting more for your money, from the durable handmade quality, to the reversible nature of the pinafores. Sizing is simple, and as always with Etsy, customer service is wonderful. The entire shop is a breath of fresh air!

You can scour for even more discounts and deals, (and even giveaways!) at her blog Three Yellow Starfish
You can find more information at her website threeyellowstarfish.com
And if you love her stuff as much as we do, and want to stay updated or view more pictures, you can pop over to her facebook page here and become a fan. We are!

Alright, it was very difficult for me to choose images for this one! I was torn between showing you her various items, or showing you my favorites, so I chose my favorites!

Shown here are ruffled bloomers, some with a matching tee or onesie, knot-dresses, and a few of her hair accessories.

These are just a few of her products, however! She provides all of the following:

Pinnies, Bloomers, Ruffled Bloomers, Skirts, Petti-skirts, Knot-dresses (my current favorites!), Tees, Onesies, and Accessories (hats, hair pins, headbands, and bracelets).

As you can see, her products are simply adorable! Modern, bright, and perfect for the upcoming seasons.

And her pricing is fantastic. $24.00 for a ruffled bloomer? I'm there!

Aside from the knot dresses, I am also in love with her charming little 1st-birthday sets of ruffled-bloomers and matching onesies. They're definitely worth looking at if your little one hasn't reached that milestone yet!

Now, how do you get that free shipping we talked about earlier?

When you purchase something from threeyellowstarfish look for a box that says "Note to Seller".

In that box, type in: FreeShipMay .

That's it!

And your shipping charge will be refunded via paypal.

We hope you enjoy this shop, it's products, and the discount!

We'll leave you to go peruse through the goodies, but before you go...

My little Alexis in her Three Yellow Starfish pinafore back in 09.

Isn't she just adorable?

Enjoy!

Jessica at J.LiLy

Discipline can be so tough

2011-04-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

     My son isn't even two, yet he knows how to manipulate soooo well...
A few days back.. and honestly, i can't even remember what he did to get himself put in time out...seems like he goes there a lot these days. Anyway, I was sitting there with him explaining why he was sitting in the time out spot, and why he can't keep doing what he was doing... When all of a sudden, He puckers up, leans forward, grabs my face, and plants a big wet kiss on my lips!
     I couldn't even believe it, then he leans in to hug me. At that moment I completely forgot about why he was in time out. All I could do was think, " oh how stinking sweet!" Well obviously time out didn't last long, He was up and back to playing with in seconds of his little, " Ill be super sweet, mom will melt, and I will be free." moment.
     He knew this would melt my heart, and he knew he wouldn't be in trouble anymore. Dang it!!! Kids are so smart. And like I said he isn't even two! It wasn't long after this sweet moment of his that he was back in the time out spot.....I found myself again explaining what he did wrong, why we don't do that, blah blah blah...When he looks up at me, bats his eye lashes, puckers up..........And I said. NO! You can have kisses after you get out of time out. Broke my heart because he started to cry and I knew he was truly sad....But, I don't want him to think that everytime he is in trouble he can kiss his way out of it. This isnt easy on me at all, I want to kiss his sweet face and hug him back, but he needs to learn. Am I being to harsh, or am I doing what I should be doing and saving the hugs and kisses for after time out?

Here is to a better day of parenting :)
Lynsay

A Hard Battle to Fight

2011-04-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

          What do you do when your child refuses to sleep in his or her own room? That is the dilemma I have been having for awhile now.
          My child is very easy going. I get constant compliments about how good she is and how lucky I am to have such a good little girl! I have actually had it pretty easy, compared to some of my friends who have more difficult children.
          Payton co-slept with us until January 1st, 2011. This is when she turned 8-months-old. I then moved her from our bed to the pack n play at the end of our bed. This was a huge adjustment for her, but within a week we were golden! A few months later I then decided it was time to make the big leap to her sleeping in her own room. I used the excuse that I didn't think she was ready for it...but in reality, I think it was me who wasn't. After a week of crying and little sleep, we finally made progress and she was a happy camper again! Until now...she has hit a new stage. She now REFUSES to sleep in her own room. She is okay with it as long as I am in there, but as soon as I leave she is screaming. I have let her "cry it out", but I think I have a very stubborn child. She will cry for hours. Literally, HOURS!!!
         I am in my 31st week of pregnancy and I physically and emotionally cannot fight this much longer. I have tried so many things. I have even tried to keep her up as long as I could. Until she was falling asleep playing! (see picture below) FAIL. As soon as she touched her crib she was screaming.

          I have now reverted back to having her sleep in the pack n play in our room. She does wonderfully in it. I know I have taken a step back, but she is no longer in our bed, and I'm getting my sanity back.
        I don't see anything wrong with co-sleeping with your baby/child. I do have a few reasons why I have decided to no longer do this. (1) Payton will have a sister in June. I am worried both children will wake each other up if in the same room. (2) I DO NOT want two babies co-sleeping with us! (there's hardly any room as it is in our bed!) (3) I worry Payton will roll out of bed, and onto our hardwood floors! OUCH! (4) My husband and I would LOVE to have our relationship back :)

        I know this is a common battle for other parents, and maybe I am putting too much thought into it. Maybe I should just keep using the pack n play until this stage is done.

          Any other Moms feel this way? I'd love to hear from you!

          I will update later on our progress!

-Lindsey with J.Lily

Happy Easter blogworld!

2011-04-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

We hope your holidays are wonderful and filled with family, friends, laughter, food, and fun. As for us, we plan to enjoy the holiday celebrations as much as we can!
Stay tuned for a post later in the day.

Love, the J.LiLy team

I can smell it already!

2011-04-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful Saturday it is. Easter is tomorrow and I am so excited! This year It's my turn to make dessert, I am making a yummy apple crisp. I have made this before and It has always been a hit! I hope everyone has a great day with their families, friends, or whoever you plan on spending it with!

Recipe:

what you need

1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

3 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, finely crushed

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup PLANTERS Walnut Pieces

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

6 cups peeled Granny Smith apple slices (about 5 medium apples)

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Mix oats, graham crumbs, 1/3 cup each of the brown sugar and flour, the walnuts, butter and 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon until well blended; set aside. MIX 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour and remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in large bowl. Add apples; toss to coat. Place in 8-inch square baking dish; sprinkle with the oat topping. BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until apples are tender. Cool slightly.

Enjoy!!! Lynsay

Help me out here!

2011-04-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, maybe because of all the easter-egg hunts, but easter always makes me think of grass. So I thought today would be an appropriate time to post this and BEG for some help.

So here's my dilemma.

In the nearly 10 months that we've lived in our house, my husband has mowed the lawn twice.

Count it.

One. Two.
That's it.
And the last time I think he did it was mid-to-late fall, so you can imagine what my yard looks like right now.
We don't own a lawn-mower, so I understand that it's a hassle.
He has to find someone to borrow one from, get it in the car, use it, get it back in the car, and take it back over to that persons house.
And we can't buy one now, because we're most likely renting out the house and moving into an apartment. Which means a lawnmower is not necessary.
And I know, he works long hours on a weird shift, so he's tired and worn out.
But he also has a 3 day weekend. Every weekend.
I would do it. I really would, but I can't.
I don't have a license, so I can't go pick it up, and I'm allergic to grass.
Really allergic to grass, not "I think this stuffy nose is allergies" allergic.
(itchy/watery/swollen eyes, hives, stuffy/runny nose, headaches, uncontrollable sneezing...and that's just leaving the window open while someone else mows their lawn. In high school I even woke up with my eyes swollen completely shut...no fun!)

The rest of the problem is,

He refuses to pay someone else to do it.

We live downtown, so their are neighbor boys and professional yard-workers who come knocking at the door every time they drive by our wildly unmanageable yard.
I always want to say "YES! Thank you! I'll pay you whatever you want!"

But instead, every time, he says "No thanks".

And every time he says no thanks, I want to scream a little bit.

I don't actually do it. But I do get the urge too.
And then a week or so goes by, the yard still un-mowed, and another hopeful person knocks at the door hoping to make a few bucks.
Only to be rejected.
I'm sure they all walk away from our house shaking their head in wonder.

So, that is my dilemma.

What do I do about a thing like this?

I don't want to just pay someone to do it when he's so set against it (for who knows what reason), but I just CANNOT look at the forest that is my yard for one more week.

So I'm opening my ears up to you.
Leave me a comment with your suggestions, please!

And help me out here.

Jessica at J.LiLy

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!

2011-04-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

A big Happy Birthday to Lindsey!

From Jessica and Lynsay

We hope its a great one!

♥

Don't forget to make a wish!

A Poem to Mothers

2011-04-23T01:36:00.000-07:00

I was on the Internet today and I stumbled across this poem. The author is unknown. I think that no matter your religious beliefs (if any) that it definitely describes how motherhood can be at times. It brought a smile to my face, here's to hoping it will bring one to yours too. Motherhood is definitely the best thing that has happened to me in my life thus far!

Dear Lord

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day

With little time to stop and pray

For life's been anything but calm

Since You called on me to be a mom

Running errands, matching socks

Building dreams with building blocks

Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes

And other stuff that children lose

Fitting lids on bottled bugs

Wiping tears and giving hugs

A stack of last weeks mail to read

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet when I steal a minute, Lord

Just at the sink or ironing board

To ask the blessings of Your grace

I see then, in my small one's face

That you have blessed me

All the while

And I stop to kiss

That precious smile

-Lindsey

I Got a Sick Obsession...

2011-04-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yup. That's right.

It's Ke$ha.

For those of you who don't listen to Ke$ha, I'm not actually obsessed!
Those are some of the lyrics to "Your love is my drug".

I know okay.
I'm a mother. I shouldn't love ke$ha. It's wrong.
Blah, blah, blah.
(hehe)
I can't help it!
I do. I just plain do.
I love her style, her songs get stuck in my head for days on end, and her attitude makes me smile.
It all takes me back to high school. Ha.

I tried not loving her music.
I really did.
I thought, mother's do not love kesha. They love elvis, the beatles, bono.
I wondered whether or not to post it,
wondered what the other mothers would think of me.
And then I realized, oh yeah!
I don't CARE if people think its wrong.
It's love!
Haha, I kid, I kid.

But seriously. Don't care.

All I know is for my birthday, I am going to see KE$HA in concert.
September 10th.
There will be jumping. There will be yelling of lyrics. There will possibly be screaming.
And there's gonna be glitter ALL up in here.

♥

Jessica at J.LiLy

Etsy Shop Promo: Tea Rose Company

2011-04-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm making a prophecy.
Yes, a prophecy.
I see cottage style coming back!
And in the spirit of that style, I bring you:

The Tea Rose Company is an adorable etsy shop, featuring hand-made products that are crafted in a soft, earthy, and feminine cottage-style (or similarly, the mori-style of japan) that will make you think of summer and wild flowers. The seller is a mother of three (no easy feat), has her own business, 'Just a Stitch Away', writes a blog, the Tea Rose Home, and still finds time to design and create these items for her etsy shop. She's one busy and creative woman!

Here are some of my favorites from her current shop inventory:

$18.00 $18.00 $13.50

That's a basket handbag, a patchwork pillow, and a little girl's handbag respectively.

I'm in love with the cozy, hand-made, cottage feel of all of her items, and as you can see, her prices are phenomenal! You'd pay upwards of $20-30 almost anywhere else, and without the durable and hand-made quality.

I know that mod is the 'in'-style for home decor right now, with simplicity, straight lines, shocks of bright colors, and geometric patterns, (and don't get me wrong, I love it!) but I foresee the cottage look making its way back into the mainstream.
Light, airy, feminine, comfortable, cozy...it reminds me of being home in the summer when I was a little girl. Playing outside with the neighborhood kids, rolling in grass, picking flowers out of the neighbors yards...Oh, to be young again!

It's already injected the fashion world, as far as dresses, skirts, blouses and accessories are concerned.
One of these handbags would look fabulous with a flowery sundress, or a loose blouse with a high-waisted skirt and a cardigan.

Cottage style. Its definitely coming back, and soon. Get ready!

Once again, you can find the link to this etsy shop in the upper left-hand corner.

Jessica at J.LiLy

I want it.

2011-04-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

The Silhouette SD

Digital Cutting Tool

And yes, I'm in L ♥ V E.

This thing...its amazing.

The things it can do!

(I think I feel a Dr. Suess rhyme coming on! ... oop, guess not.)

But seriously. I think it could just possibly change my life.

Or at least my house.

And ALL the stuff inside my house. And my blog. And my clothes. And my daughters clothes. And,

I digress.

What kinds of things can it do you ask? Well! Let me show you!

That's scrapbooking, sketching, card designing, glass etching, apparel decorating, and vinyl wall-decal making, respectively.

How does it do this!? you ask with the proper level of excitement and intrigue.

Let me tell you.

It's like a printer, but rather than printing on paper, it has a blade that cuts the fonts or images out instead.

GENIUS!

I'm all jittery just thinking about it.

For real. My hand is shaking like I just had a case of Amp energy drinks.

(And that can hospitalize you, no joke.)

Basically, the software it comes with gives you tons of free fonts and designs to cut out of virtually any pliable material from paper, to fabric, to vinyl.

You can also open any image or clipart you want from your own computer and use it in the program, or you can download inexpensive designs direct from the site.

The program then lets you arrange the fonts or designs in any way you please, and then you begin the cutting process.

You can swap out the blade for this nifty thing:

then stick one of their pens inside, and sketch the font/design onto paper to make custom designs for cards, scrapbook pages, subway art, etc.

I want it.

I want it SO bad, its going on my 'Lottery Wishlist'.

My list of things

I.WILL.OWN.

Just as soon as I win the lottery.

Because this bad boy tops out at

$299.99

...

Yeah.

And pens, the pen holder, vinyl, adhesive backed cardstock, etchall etching creme, and etc. are all extras.

So while I'm dreaming (and scheming...that lottery thing isn't going to work itself out), you can jump over here to view (if you're broke like me) or purchase the Silhouette, or over here to check out their blog and their many beautiful creations.

Personally, I'm following the blog in hopes that someday I'll own it and be able to create for myself all the projects I've drooled over for however long.

Which at this point is about 2 hours.

Jessica at J.LiLy

Coffee

2011-04-19T06:36:00.001-07:00

Oh how i love thee! Your taste, your smell, your look......I love everything!

I remember the very first time I tasted that amazing cup of Joe. I was 7 years old, probably too young but who cares?! Its coffee...everyone loves coffee right?? Now, I wasn't allowed to have coffee at that young of an age, but I chose to be mischievous none the less. I remember everytime there was a place serving free coffee I would go get myself a cup. Mmm, that warm murk sliding down my throat and warming my belly. People always told me it would stunt my growth but I think that's an old wives tale. Besides, I think i turned out pretty average... I am all of 5'5''. Finally... I have reached the age to have a job...but what did i want to do? Well of course it was Espresso, it was my favorite drink! I thought this will be great, I will apply at some coffee shops and make coffee all day... how wonderful! Now don't get me wrong, I loved making Espresso but no one told me about the customers and how picky some are. My first job was at a visitor center on the way up to Mount St. Helen's. Many, many people would stop and get a cup of Java or "mudd" as we called it there. Most of the guests were wonderful, friendly, just as outgoing as I was. Then there were the ones who forgot to have a cup of jamoke before leaving the house. "this is too bitter." "this is too hot!" "this is too cold" "not enough cream" " I said no straws" "I only want 1 straw" the list goes on. I would just smile and "fix" their problems....darn picky people. I like my Joe with a little sugar and a little cream. Soon they start throwing in, " I want it breve." " I want it Tepid." Bah humbug people!! I soon moved on to my next job...Barista at a local bagel shop. Like my previous job most guests were so pleasant. I do remember this one guest though... Came in and ordered a drip coffee, no lid, no sleeve...Person working the coffee bar that day got a little more than they asked for...Handed the not so gentle "man" his coffee and the guy flipped! He said NO lid...NO sleeve...Dumped his coffee on the floor and stormed out. He obviously didn't have a cup of Joe before leaving the house either. I got a few more jobs working with Espresso met new people, happy and grouchy. I took some time off and had my son........I thought I liked coffee then......Boy, was I wrong!

Lynsay

Treading the Line: Free Spirit/Spoiled

2011-04-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are trying to raise our 2 1/2 year old to be her own person. We want her to be self-assured, self-confident, conscientious of others, an independent thinker, a strong decision-maker, and unafraid to stand for what she loves.
It's more important to us that she be independent and confident as she grows older than for her to be blindly obedient. Because in my opinion, blind obedience has never been good for anyone.

All good things in theory right?

The problem is finding the line between letting her be her own person, and letting her run wild.
I don't want her to be a child who screams "NO!" when told what to do, or who runs off when she needs to be disciplined, but I also don't want to break her spirit.
And this becomes a balancing act between free spirit and spoiled (or good and evil!) that breaks down into almost every part of our everyday life.

Luckily, we seem to lean towards the happier side of the line for the most part.

For example, when she passes gas.
She and daddy will laugh. A lot.
Then she will usually say something like "Haha, I fahted".
And then she'll say with a smile, "Excuse me!".
Because in our family, its okay for farts to be funny, but we should also be curteous to others. (Win!)

Or, like when she went through her screaming phase.
So long as she screamed because she was happy, or excited, or for no reason at all, we would say something like "Wow! That was a good one!".
If she did it because she was sad or scared, we would comfort her, and let her know it was good that she was telling us she was scared or sad, and then try to demonstrate a better way of sharing how she was feeling.
But if she did it because she was angry or unhappy, we would simply ignore her.
Lucky for us, it worked. She actually stopped screaming in just a few months, except for when she is playing, and surprised or excited. (Win!)

She is also one of the most polite kids I've ever been around (something we've been complimented on a lot, but the kudos really go to her), she genuinely cares about other people's feelings, and she keeps her room immaculately clean (again, ALL her). (Epic Win!)

But with the good comes the bad, and things have backfired on us too.

We like to give her options so she learns good decision-making skills. So we will ask her what she wants to eat for breakfast: a banana, a bowl of cereal, some strawberries, or some toast? And she will usually tell us what she wants.
But sometimes, (okay, 45% of the time), she'll say something like: "Tootie! I wan tootie mommy!"
Translation: she wants cookies for breakfast.
Or crackers.
Or m&ms.
And her being her stubborn self, she will choose to not eat any breakfast rather than eat ANYTHING other than a cookie.
Which leaves me feeling like a terrible parent because my kid skipped breakfast and is complaining about being hungry.(Fail.)

Or we'll tell her that she needs to do something.
Anything.
And because she's so used to options if she doesn't get them she tends to get pretty defiant. So we get to deal with the "No!" child. Which in our house results in time-outs. (Fail.)

Part of the problem is really our own.
We will ask her to do something when we really intend to tell her to do it.
She, having been asked, chooses not to do it, and if she's in a particularly stubborn mood she will
just. not. do it.
Which usually results in time-outs. (Fail.)

The result of all of this is our constantly treading a line between her being a free spirit, or spoiled.
A line that can at times be very fuzzy and hard to see.
A line that is sometimes, unfortunately, but inevitably, crossed.
And the hope is that consistancy and effort will help to guide her into being a free-spirit, but one who recognises and follow the rules.

Oh, idealism. How you taunt us.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll eventually make up your own mind on which of the two she is, if not now, then as time and posts go on. Until then this is me, carefully treading the line.

Jessica at J.LiLy

Promotion Spot: Etsy Shop

2011-04-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Our Etsy shop of the week is up! In the left hand corner you will find the link to Little Elephant & Co, an etsy shop selling charmingly packaged onesies, washcloths, bibs, and other goodies. I recently had the good fortune of finding the shop and bought this little box (and bouquet) of sweetness for my cousin who just had her first baby, and I'm super happy with it!

It's called the 'cupcake set and washcloth bouquet' and I think it is just the funnest way to give simple necessities like onesies and washcloths!

And the price is fantastic! Lindsey and I recently went to a baby shower for a mutual friend, and I spent 30$ at walmart on a package of diapers and a small outfit. Well, whoop-de-do basil. Not such a fun gift. In fact, I was a little embarrassed at having to give it when everyone else was giving her bags full of stuff. I'm not sure how all of these families are doing it, but I'm living on a budget people! A very tight budget, and I can't just go spending forty dollars here and fifty there. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Well lucky me, I just happened to get this item on a sale day which gave me 15% off, so along with tax and shipping it came out to about...da-dada-daa! 30$. That's it! For the exact same price, I was able to give a much cuter gift that's just as practical as it is adorable. And while it may not be a bag full of new outfits and accessories, I can feel good about giving onesies, bibs, washclothes, and burp rags because those will undoubtedly be needed and used. And you know she's just going to love the packaging!

Here are some other goodies from the shop:

Lollies, indiviually packaged cupcakes, a sushi platter, and a stand-alone shot of her adorable cupcakes respectively. I'd like to note that most of her items are topped with hand-knitted or felt little treasures to help add to the adorable-ness.

So there you go, a perfect go-to shop for any babyshower or new-baby gift, and very reasonably priced. ♥

Edit: littleelephantandco is back open and better than ever! Go check her out!

Jessica at J.LiLy